It’s so great to see that there are still places on planet Earth that are not so easy to get to. Just this week, a team of climbers, engineers and drivers took a heavily modified Porsche 911 – even more extreme than the 911 Dakar – to the top of a volcano in Chile. They set a new world record for the highest altitude ever reached by car.
The record now stands at an incredible 6,734 meters above sea level. On December 2, it was installed by Le Mans champion Romain Dumas in a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S named Edith, climbing to the top of the western ridge of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile.
In total, two specially modified Porsche 911s took part in the expedition, but Edith turned out to be lighter and more maneuverable. She and her counterpart (named Doris) were developed by the RD Limited team in collaboration with Porsche.
Expedition vehicles received an all-wheel drive transmission with portal axles and a reinforced seven-speed manual transmission.
These portal axles gave the Porsche team 350mm of ground clearance (a huge increase over the standard Carrera 4S’s 125mm) and a lower gear ratio, allowing for more precise throttle control at low speeds.
In addition, the cars had powerful underbody protection made of aramid fiber. Aramid is a special polyamide that is used in the manufacture of, for example, firefighting equipment and tactical body armor.
Carbon fiber seats can be found throughout the cabin, and some factory interior parts have been omitted to save weight.
3.0-liter flat-six engine producing 443 hp. remained stock, running on Mobil 1 lubricants and burning HIF eFuel, a synthetic gasoline created in Chile and made from water and carbon dioxide. Porsche has invested in this technology to extend the life of internal combustion engine vehicles, making them more environmentally friendly.
Porsche noted that its team “took two weeks to slowly acclimatize to the altitude, gradually moving towards the top of the volcano.” But also: “The cars didn’t have these problems – the 911’s standard systems sensed thin air and adjusted fuel accordingly, meaning performance was at its best.”
Edith also had a special system called Space Drive, developed and provided by the Schaeffler Group. Essentially, its use means that instead of physical hinges and levers connecting the steering wheel to the front wheels of the car, steering is done by wire.
Theoretical benefits include better responsiveness and variable steering ratio that changes with speed. This technology is new, but could soon begin to appear in production cars – for example, the Lexus RZ450e will be one of the first production cars without the traditional steering column.
The team was represented by Chile, France, Germany, USA, Canada and Switzerland, with support from Porsche, HIF Global, Schaeffler Group, Mobil 1, BFGoodrich and TAG Heuer. The actual setting of the record was recorded on Saturday, December 2, 2023, at 15:58 local time. While one of us was sitting on the sofa among a pile of crisp crumbs, these guys were climbing to the 6,734-meter peak in a pair of Porsches.
The only thing that makes this year’s car altitude record a little less cool is that it is very similar to a repeat of last year: another Porsche climbed to a height of 6006 meters along with Mr. Dumas and the same cars.
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